Donkey Kong Bananza is one of the first major titles to release for the Nintendo Switch 2 and it is everything gamers were hoping it would be.
While many gamers were understandably thrilled to see Mario Kart World launch with the Nintendo Switch 2 in June, many more were looking ahead to July towards Donkey Kong Bananza, the first single-player game to be released exclusively for the Nintendo Switch 2.
Donkey Kong Bananza
Developed by: Nintendo
Platform: Nintendo Switch 2
Release Date: July 17, 2025
Since release, Donkey Kong Bananza has been flying off the shelves and for good reason. The game has received almost universal acclaim and is easily a Game of the Year contender, as well as providing a fantastic jumping in point for gamers who haven’t tried a Donkey Kong game before.
For this review I played Donkey Kong Bananza in TV mode on the Nintendo Switch 2, switching between Normal Mode and Assist Mode as needed.
The Story
Featuring a redesigned Donkey Kong (DK), Donkey Kong Bananza follows DK and his friend Pauline as they journey towards the Planet Core to stop the evil Void Kong from stealing a magical wish for nefarious purposes. This journey is guided by a number of underworld inhabitants and friends that DK and Pauline make along the way.
To get to the Planet Core the great ape has to (literally) smash his way through obstacles, monsters and innumerable terrain types, all while picking up super-powerful “Bananza” modes from the Great Elders encountered along the way in order to get through certain obstacles. These modes, combined with the power of Pauline’s singing, make for a compelling adventure as the duo encounter all types of insane situations the deeper they go.
The Gameplay
It doesn’t take long for the basic pattern of Donkey Kong Bananza to assert itself: DK and Pauline arrive in a given layer, but there’s a problem created by Void Kong who arrived ahead of them. It’s up to our heroes to fix the problem so they can proceed to the next layer. This sounds simple but in-between arriving at a new layer and being able to dive to the next is a series of puzzles and combat that can be surprisingly confounding at times.
The world of Donkey Kong Bananza is beautifully rendered, each layer feeling like its own separate world. Just exploring each area could be a game in and of itself, and happily the game lets you travel back to an earlier level whenever you like, so you never have to worry about missing out on any hidden items.
It’s almost always clear where one needs to go next, but what isn’t always clear is how to get there. In true platformer tradition, Donkey Kong Bananza puts a wide variety of puzzles in the way and it’s up to the player to figure out the best way to get from point A to point B. And if one really does get stuck, whistling will highlight the path the player needs to take as a reminder. The game helpfully provides a number of save points so that, if the worst happens, the player doesn’t lose a lot of progress if they have to start a particular area over.
This is where the game really shines, as Donkey Kong Bananza provides multiple ways and means for players to progress through the map. These can range from punching through enemies to tunneling around an obstacle entirely. The latter can be especially fun as DK can punch through almost anything. In an early area, for example, instead of dealing with a swarm of insects, i had DK tunnel through stone and come out on the other end of the obstacles, none the worse for wear.
Donkey Kong Bananza is also a game that encourages exploration. Everywhere you go there are secrets to be uncovered, be it treasure chests, fossils, gold or, if you really get lucky, extra bananas that give DK skill points once you find enough. Skill points should not be neglected, as they can increase DK’s health, the power of his punches, and a number of other details that can help make things easier as the game goes on. On a similar note, I like how the game uses the different clothing options to protect DK from various hazards depending on the layer being explored.
One tip I feel I should share is to be aware of your surroundings as you travel through different areas. If a solution to getting through an area isn’t obvious then make sure to look all the way up and all around, I promise the game provides all the tools you need, you just have to spot them.
Fun But Occasionally Frustrating
As amazing as Donkey Kong Bananza is, there is one particular element that has been causing immense frustration and that is the boss fights. These occur at least once per layer and, not surprisingly, get more difficult the farther into the game you go.
This difficulty can become compounded when the fight requires utilizing the newest Bananza skill that DK has acquired. Some of these fights require precision timing to take the boss out within a given space of time and if you get it wrong, it can be very easy to either have to try again uncountable times or worse, run out of life and have to start the fight completely over. Even now it can be frustrating to be deep into a boss battle only to have to start from the beginning.
The best solution I found for this was to focus on the patterns. Each boss has a pattern they follow, and even if it takes a few tries (or more), eventually you will take that boss down.
A Must-Play Game
All of this is to say that Donkey Kong Bananza is an easy Game of the Year contender and one of the best games I’ve played this year. It takes full advantage of the increased power of the Nintendo Switch 2 and I can only hope future Nintendo games follow the pattern that Donkey Kong Bananza has set.
If you have a Nintendo Switch 2, be sure to check Donkey Kong Bananza out, it is more than worth your time.
